Philadelphia Falter in Texas & Mahomes Saves Kansas City – Top Moments from NFL Week 12

Week 12 provided an incredible Cowboys rally, or was it an epic Eagles implosion?

Postseason Patrick Mahomes showed up to rescue the Chiefs' campaign while the Chicago Bears continue to surprise while they continue their winning streak.

Did Shedeur Sanders do sufficiently on his debut professional start to earn the full-time job in Ohio?

We’ll examine at the pick of the week in the NFL.

The Breakdown – Dallas Rally or Eagles Collapse?

The Cowboys were down and out at 21-0 down against the reigning championship champions, so how on earth did they produce their equal-largest comeback in history?

Sentiment of a first home game after a teammate’s tragic passing could have been a factor, but technically it was a combination of Dak Prescott determination and a defence that pounced on rare mistakes by the Philadelphia.

Prescott eclipsed Romo’s records for yards thrown (now 34,378) and game-winning possessions (twenty-five) with an dynamic performance – his diving touchdown embodying his energetic showing.

Philly squandered a lead of twenty-one points or more for the first time after 1999, with only their second game with multiple turnovers this season – the previous being a disappointing NFC East loss at the Giants.

In addition to fourteen infractions for ninety-six yards, the attacking struggles that hit Hurts after what – for him – was an fast start was huge. He had only passed for over two hundred yards in four games prior to the weekend, he had more than one hundred fifty in the opening two quarters alone in Texas.

However from the time Philadelphia went 21-0 up their offence fell apart dramatically – with four straight punts, a missed three-point attempt and then a turnover giving chance after opportunity to the Cowboys.

Philadelphia’s defence is excellent, it really is, but an offence that's not surpassed twenty-one points in 5 of 7 games (3 losses) is now a major concern, as the components are all there but it's simply not clicking.

Nick Sirianni game is all about securing the key situations, the defense maintains them in it and what offense there is manages just about sufficient – if it cannot even do that and now the discipline and ball protection is failing, there may be trouble ahead.

In Focus – Postseason Mahomes Appears Prematurely to Save Kansas City

It wasn't quite as extreme, but Kansas City's eleven-point comeback in the fourth quarter against a strong Indianapolis squad was very notable – and may have just rescued their season.

How significant was it? Well, the NFL's advanced analytics now assign the Chiefs a 58% chance of reaching the postseason, whereas a defeat on the weekend would have dropped that figure to 28%.

No wonder the playoff form of Patrick Mahomes turned up, passing for two hundred thirty-five yards in the latter half alone and guiding three scoring possessions in their last 4 possessions to seal it in overtime.

A few huge passes and swashbuckling runs are typical for Patrick in the postseason, but currently the Chiefs are in post-season form – at 6-5 and just 10th in the AFC standings.

This was more like the old Chiefs however, with a initial one-score victory of the season after losing five already – they secured 11 of them last year so, if that belief returns, this Kansas City faithful may not be done just yet.

Discussion – Are Chicago Become Rulers of the North?

You just can't ignore the Chicago Bears any longer. A win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Aaron Rodgers, kept them first of the division and at 8-3 – sharing the same record as the Eagles.

They appear threatening on each side of the ball, with a defense that tops the NFL in interceptions and total takeaways and, in Caleb Williams, a young player now accustomed to securing close games.

He may still be inconsistent, surrendering a touchdown after a fumble in his team’s end zone – but he also passed for three scores and, with already five final period comebacks this year, he understands how to get the job done.

Green Bay are in hot pursuit in the division after overpowering the Vikings and Detroit are in contention after overcoming the New York in extra time with a huge game from Jahmyr Gibbs.

Chicago are strangely the most consistent with 8 victories in nine, but as they travel to the championship winners on Thanksgiving we'll see just how strong they really are.

Look Ahead – Thrilling Holiday in Store

It appears among the most exciting holiday schedules for a long time, with each game packed with postseason implications.

The Lions welcome the Packers in the traditional curtain-raiser in Detroit, before a unusual trip return to Texas for the Chiefs, who began existence as the Texans way back in the sixties before moving to Kansas City.

The weekend’s rally kings are both holding on to postseason aspirations but have very little room for error – so this will have a playoff feel.

What about the Ravens? An ugly victory over the New York in fact has them leading of the division after beginning one and five and appearing finished.

Holiday and Black Friday Fixtures (all times GMT)

  • Thursday, 27 November: Green Bay Packers @ Lions (6:00 PM)
  • Thursday, twenty-seven November: Kansas City Chiefs @ Dallas Cowboys (9:30 PM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Bengals @ Baltimore Ravens (1:20 AM)
  • Friday, 28 November: Chicago Bears @ Eagles (8:00 PM)

Can Sanders Retain His Starting Role?

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski dismissed questions on whether Sanders had performed sufficiently in his first NFL start to maintain the starting job when Dillon Gabriel returns.

Yet the issue will continue to be asked as Sanders became the first Browns quarterback to secure his first league start after Eric Zeier in 1999 – with 17 additional rookie signal callers failing to do so afterward.

It was only the Raiders, and with the assistance of an almost aggressive Browns defence recording 10 tackles, but Cleveland's offence requires a leader, a presence to build confidence.

And confidence is something not lacking in Sanders, who informed a CBS {

Randall Cooke
Randall Cooke

A seasoned gaming analyst with over a decade of experience in online casinos and slot machine mechanics, specializing in strategy development.